Advanced Production Planning Lani Manuel 3104

1. Advanced Production Planning LaniManuel 3104

2. Research Research by Medium When I began my coursework I was not very familiar with Radio dramas so I began to listen to a variety of radio dramas. This helped see how each genre approached it and the variety of sound effects use. The Archers A successful series following a family called The Archers and their fellow villagers. With 15,900 episodes it is the world's longest running radio soap. The series was originally aimed at agriculture workers, in the hope that it would aid 1950s audience of rural workers in feeding a rationed Britain. the subjects included were therefore agriculture orientated but now as its audience has grown they deal with wider subjects such as miscarriage, racism, alcoholism and homosexuality .Each thirteen minute episode only takes two hours of studio time. The War of the Worlds Orson Welles directed and narrated the radio drama on Halloween 1938. The hour long broadcast was presented as a series of news bulletins which had the effect of fooling many listeners that the radio station was covering an actual alien invasion! It caused mass hysteria demonstrating the power of effective radio. The genre of a news report was manipulated ,making it realistic. This was adapted form the novel, showing that it can be appreciated as a radio drama too. Hitch hikers guide to the galaxy Originally produced as a radio comedy ,hitch hikers guide to the galaxy was later adapted for television when its popularity grew... Voiced by actor Peter Jones. His powerful, avuncular tones helped. towards a tremendous boost in the series and firmly established the tenor of the piece. creator Douglas Adams was trying to create a programme “comparable to a modern rock album". The series was known for its use of sound, it was the first comedy series to use stereo, the creation of sound heard from various directions, as in natural hearing. The Hitchhikers Guide to the galaxy led the way in modern radio production.

3. Research Research by theme My story is a newlywed couple who move to a house in the quiet suburbs which they soon discover is haunted.The wife is the first to realize but the husband rubbishes this at first.He had knowledge of the house history but kept it from her,it is not the first time he has kept thing form her. The theme of a Haunted house can be seen across time in media and urban legends, many people claim to have paranormal experiences and this theme is both intriguing and creates a sense of terror. allowing the  listener to experience ‘hauntings’ from the safety of their radios. • Paranormal Activity (film) • After a young couple Katie and Micah move into what seems like a typical suburban house, they become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be demonic but is certainly most active in the middle of the night. It has a particular interest in Katie, so they set up a camera to monitor it’s activity. • El Orfanto (film) • The film follows former orphan Laura, her husband Carlos and their adopted Son Simon. They move back into Laura's former Orphanage and pan to reopen it. There son soon begins to talk of his ‘friends’ children that he plays with and tell he to do things, after doubting him Laura begins to fear that he is telling the truth and their house could be haunted by Laura's former fellow orphans. When Simon goes missing she is certain the ghosts are to blame a belief that her husband Carlos refuses to entertain. • Amityville Horror (book and film) • A family move into a suburban neighbourhood ,the previous family were shot by the father at the house. After 28 days, the new family left the house, claiming to have been terrorized by paranormal phenomena while living there.

4. My radio drama My radio drama follows a fairly linear narrative, flowing in order of events . Postmodernly ,however, it  is fragmented with the flashback scene ,moving away from a realist convention to allow the audience a wider perspective on events and also to engage their attention to the sudden change of scene and characters. By beginning the narrative with Eleanor the audience are more emotive toward her when she is alone in the house with the spirits the audience feel a dramatic irony of fear. The story time is established through ellipsis, the narrative is kept flowing and relevant by  uneventful events in between being assumed such as Aarons retelling of what the estate agent said to Eleanor. The audience get the direct information from the estate agent in the flashback. I had to be careful in my selection of cast as they needed to correctly portray the characters. I had to choose voices with the correct suitability who represent their characters .I . therefore had to be meticulous in choosing my actors paying attention to their voices and ensuring their availability's my characters are newlyweds in their late 20s I could not use my peers and had to carefully seek out people who not only fitted the age category but whom I felt could portray my characters. I used teachers but had to find young ones who were willing and available. There are high tension scenes and my cast needed to be dramatic and convincing. I want to create a real sense of terror for my listeners , keeping them engaged

5. Organisation of actors As I used staff for my radio play it was hard to find a time to record as they only had a few free periods each and I then had to find when their free period coincided. Before we began recording I went to personally see my actors and provided them with a script so they could run through and see if there were any words they were having trouble with. The actor who was to play Eleanor was very busy so much of the organisation was done via email.

6. Organisation of equipment To achieve a successful sounding radio drama I needed the audio to be clear,therefore I required high quality equipment. We had access to Sony recorders and microphones ,however we had only had a few and as the whole year were executing their coursework too the equipment had to be pre-booked. Once I had secured my actors I ensured that the equipment would be available. I needed my actors to come to the media room where I had set up the equipment so it would pick up sound evenly. I also did it in the media room as I had to minimise the threat of any extraneous sounds interrupting my recording. I needed the equipment again the following week to record my sound effects but it was easily available at this pint as majority of people had finished recording .

7. Drafting of script After reading through my 1st draft I decided to cut some of Aaron and Eleanor’s reminiscing about the wedding as they have just returned from their honeymoon and would have reflected on the wedding then. With a radio drama you cannot be obvious in the insertion of background information to the audience; it should be discreetly embedded within the dialogue and sound effects. I also decided not to have the flashback so soon; instead I put it after the first clear haunting as I thought it would jump into it too soon after the first scene, and more time was required to establish the characters. I moved it so more suspense is built up before the houses history is explained. I also cut the breakfast scene as it was unnecessary and dragged it out too much and the information given here could be embedded within the others scene. The first haunting scene need more dialogue to make it more realistic. When in a high tension situation there’s normally more quick paced dialogue. I added more sound effects throughout the script to ensure it is realistic, there is always background noise in reality. After learning the truth about their new home and that her husband had been keeping it from her my character Eleanor is understandably furious. I thought therefore a profanity was necessary to convey her anger and disbelief however due to institutional demands I decided to exercise self censorship to avoid jeopardising the broadcast of my radio drama, therefore edited  it to “What the hell Aaron?!”

8. Communication through blog and play The use of a blog allowed me to easily upload my work and then be able to access it from both school and home. Mr Milliken could also read our work as we went along and add comments for us to improve on. When I found relevant websites instead of having to copy and paste it into a word document I could just link it to my blog. I have communicated my characters through their dialogue ,this establishes the relationship they have with one another and how they react. I have communicated their class and culture through their speech. when Eleanor is speaking to her friend on the phone she uses correct english and words like ‘hectic‘ as opposed to’ busy’ and ‘hilarious’ as oppossed to ‘funny’-“Sorry Sarah, so hectic! But it is beautiful…yeah definitely!”  I also decided to call her friend Sarah,as this is a quintessential English name and will resonate with a Radio 4 audience. When Eleanor suggests Aaron put his games in the room at the end on of the corridor and he replies : “Um, no honey not in there- ” this subtly communicates his secretive nature as he doesn’t explain why not ,the audience may pick up on this if not it will make sense at the end .“Sweetie I understand you’re upset but the estate agent said it’ll be fine…”  Aaron can be quite patronising to his wife ,dismissing her superstions for paranoia. His use of the word “sweetie” is often when Eleanor is worried or angry at him,he uses to try and butter her up. Their relationship has  previously suffered from Aaron’s secretive nature and his infidelites he makes a joke of his constant blunders when he says, “what haveIdone now?”  His humour is soon turned to shock at the mess that the ghosts have caused, and Aaron is forced to entertain the possibility that they are not alone.

9. Conventions of drama http://www.finalrune.com/dark-passenger This Radio drama begins with music and has a constant background acoustic which makes it convincing.It is narrated by one of the main two males as he recalls ghostly events when they vistited a haunted house.This radio drama makes full use of sound effects and breaks up the dialogue with narration.IT is only the two of them in the abondend house which creates a lot of suspense,especially as we as an audience cannot see what they see leaving it to play on the listeners imagination creating terror.They try to scare eachother,before the true haunting begins,creating dramatic irony for an audience who know they are listening to a horror.

10. Target Audience • My play will be broadcast on BBC’s Radio 4,the BBC is a Public Service Broadcaster and Radio 4 has a core audience who have  grown up listening to Radio 4 since its launch in 1967.They are therefore predominantly middle aged with an average age of 54, Radio 4 have to be selective to not alienate their loyal consumers. However the theme of my play can be seen in popular media for many decades. • The theme of the supernatural is appealing to all age groups as it is intriguing and creates a sense of terror. allowing the  listener to experience ‘haunting’ from the safety of their radios. It can also provide escapism from the worries of today's society such as recession .My intertwined theme of deceit within a marriage and paranormal activity may also help draw in a younger audience and draw more female listeners in who may empathize with Eleanor as the listeners of Radio 4 are currently 51% male and 49% female. • Radio 4 has a higher socio-economical audience  however everyone has access to a radio so with the right marketing I could draw in a wider audience . Audience members are free to accept/reject the meaning as they see fit for my radio drama but it is not a controversial piece. The gratifications are to entertain/escape and for some listeners relate to ,if the have experienced similar relationship troubles.